Thank you, UglyGreed.

Taking away that signal would not be a good thing, unless it was triggering for no actual reason.

My nerves send false signals that my feet are on fire, electric shocks, numbness, ants biting all over my feet and legs, soreness...
I would think that after years of this I would know and understand that the pain would be telling me I need to change, change how I treat the pain that is! I hope this works out, especially since Texas will probably be the last state to pass medical marihuana.

and am always at a loss to understand it.

can have numbness and intense pain. Unfortunately for me, I am allergic to most of the drugs they would normally use, like Gabopentin and Cymbalta. I can use Lyrica, but also have to take Tramodol and Opana ER, which are no longer very effective.

relief from either. Some doctors seem surprised that I am not diabetic.

were normal. Made me do a couple of the diabetic tests as well. Finally, after telling my neurologist that he needed to find out what type of neuropathy I had, (he had said he would, "see you in a year!&quot , he sent me to Dr. Aziz Shaboni, who took three biopsies and counted the nerves in each. That was how I was diagnosed after a three year, multiple doctor ordeal. Now I have a neural stimulator implanted to help with pain relief. It was not as beneficial as they said it would be, they just wanted the money for the surgery, but it does help at times.

Welcome to DU!

I'm looking at the prescription drug abuse of opiods and similar frantic searches for chemical means of squashing psychic pain, and assuming similar misapplications and "off-label" use will occur.

Too often people would rather take a chemical than fix a problem, even if the problem isn't organic.

is indeed a good thing but chronic pain is something else. I have fibromyalgia; arthritis in the spine, neck, and knees; migraine headaches. glaucoma, and a few other sources of chronic pain. A whine I am not but if a real way to be able to function could be found I would jump at it.

chronic pain can sometimes be the body malfunctioning. My husband has glaucoma and when it decides it doesn't want to respond to the glaucoma meds it can be excruciating for my husband. Nothing he can change to fix it though. He just has to use what limited resources he has at his disposal. Right now his glaucoma is under control but it does fluxuate more than what the doctor is comfortable with. He takes a drop that luckily his doctor gives him samples of, but the pill that he is suppose to take is $600/month so he does not take that medication. Along with the drop the doctor gives him samples of he also takes medical marijuana.

by definition, chronic pain is useless pain.
nobody gets to that point without finding out why they hurt, or what is wrong.

Hopefully, this will not take decades of research to provide a working treatment.

It's called "Post Herpetic Neuralgia" (doesn't sound horrible, but it is). At first I had to take the serious pain killers, but as their effectiveness wears off fairly rapidly I discovered something that helps: engaging the brain in any kind of focused activity. It made sense to me since the pain was always worse when I first woke up in the morning before my brain had fully engaged. I started turning on the news immediately to distract my brain. I am thankful I finally recovered (although years later I still experience mild symptoms). I don't think people - doctors included - appreciate what being in real pain is until they experience it. "Tricking" your brain is something to try . . . anything is worth trying.

for childbirth contractions. Besides the breathing techniques, focus on an object to distract the brain from the pain. I have used it for other situations for decades.

opiate pain killers. They helped a little but became increasingly less effective and he was becoming physically dependent on them. He was already bed ridden most of the time so one of the things he did was listen to books on cd. He really enjoyed them and it helped distract him.

Sometimes parts just wear out; for example, in the case of an elderly aunt (90), the docs won't risk an operation because of her age. She has chronic neck pain.

This is terrific news, and I thank you for bringing it to us, UglyGreed. I will be reading this article to my aunt this weekend. It may give her a little hope that someday....



Cher

Profits will be up for a few years until the patent exclusivity ends.

I don't understand why you would complain about this. It could potentially benefit thousands of chronic pain sufferers. Yes, there are problems with how drugs are sold in this country, but that's a separate problem.

With that new nonsequitor?

I've stopped taking pain meds and try to not take muscle relaxers

...where legalization has spurred innovation and strains now exist high in pain-reducing cannabinoids but that dont get you "high" like a 60s college party.

Watch the Sanjay Gupta special making the rounds on CNN.

My own experience is even prescribed opiates are highly-addictive for one, while MMJ is not. Indeed, if anyone here undergoes the nasty secret of prescribed vicodin, percocet or oxycotin - namely opiate withdrawal - MMJ greatly eases coming off these powerful commercial narcotics.

Thanks.

I have always found marijuana to be the most effective relief for nearly everything. We're growing our own, legally thanks to Colorado voters. We make our own edibles, which are an excellent way to relieve pain and stress and are the best sleep aid there is. A few pieces of hard candy during the day keep me moving and a couple of cookies at night ensure a good night's sleep.

The US prohibition on cannabis and hemp is probably one of the most harmful corporate policy our government has ever enacted. This is a miracle plant in every way and the only reason for it's prohibition is pure greed.

In 2012, my husband's 91 year old dad fell and broke a bone in his neck leaving him helpless. We shared the care for him that last year with the rest of the family. He was in pain most of the time. Once I fed him some infused cheese crackers. He was a mean and abusive man who's rage at the world became worse after the fall, but that day, he was laughing and in great spirits. He was amazed at how good he felt and everyone who came by the house remarked on his happy mood. Of course, this was Texas, so the supply was limited to what I could bring when it was my turn to be there.
He never knew why he was so happy to see me, but he was. He said he always felt better when I was there, and I'm quite sure it had nothing to do with my personality, it was those little treats I fed him. No one ever knew except me and my husband.

edibles and other concentrates will be a more economical alternative for him. He has to smoke or vape constantly to keep his glaucoma under control and sometimes he has to smoke more than he wants to but has to keep smoking until the pressure is where it is suppose to be.

"A total of 301 rats and 63 mice were employed."

"In animals with cancer-induced bone pain, spontaneous flinching and guarding behaviours were monitored"

"tail flick and hot-plate latency tests"

http://brain.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2014/11/19/brain.awu330


Hot-plate latency test:

A transparent glass cylinder is used to keep the animal on the heated surface of the plate.
The temperature of the hot plate is set using a thermoregulated water-circulated pump.
The time of latency is defined as the time period between the zero point, when the animal is placed on the hot plate surface, and the time when the animal licks its paw or jumps off to avoid thermal pain

to be some happy people! The drug companies will take a big hit if it works well. Just the thought makes me giddy.

They do nothing for the pain (and I've had chronic, sometimes debilitating pain, for years). Cymbalta came closest to helping but it made my heart race (long QTc problems) and was hell getting off of it. I hope this works.

it's a tricyclic antidepressant

No details on how I obtained some bud infused into glycerin, but a couple of drops on the tongue as needed helps my chronic pain. I have no funds for doctors or pharmaceuticals, so this is the route I can afford.